Against the Odds
by Ve1vet R0se
Summary: Angelic Layer goes international, and gives Hannah Leonhart a reason to come out of her shell. She'll have many emotional obstacles she'll have to go over if she wants to be the best. Complete
1. Battle 01: It Begins!

**Author's Note: my first Angelic Layer fan fiction. I'll try my very best**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer. Or any other anime/mangas mentioned in here

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Hannah smiled happily as she picked up the egg from the large pile. _My very own angel! I'm so excited! _Many people were here to get their first angel. Only recently had Angelic Layer gone international and Piffle Princess stores began popping up everywhere.

It was about two days ago during her lunch period that Hannah saw her first angel. A girl named Allie was holding hers up to her friends and talking about how well she was able to move her angel. She watched curiously. Move a doll? Anybody can do that, most dolls have joints. Allie began talking about how she was going to enter an Angelic Layer public tournament soon. Hannah decided to skip lunch and head to the computer lab to research 'Angelic layer'.

This began her Angelic Layer career. After much researching she had come to find that Angelic Layer was a game. You battled your doll against other dolls using your love, courage, and knowledge. It didn't seem that hard. Though t was a little expensive Hannah had been able to find just enough money to pay for all the things she needed.

35.99 for the Angel Egg

2.00 for each packet of Angelic Layer armor cloth. She was going to buy three

11.99 for the Angel Cord

19.99 for the Data computer

And about ten dollars extra, just in case Hannah needed something else for her angel.

Eighty dollars was a lot, but she had been saving her money since her birthday. Hannah had about sixty-eight dollars already when she first saw Allie's angel. Her allowance gave her ten dollars extra, and the two other dollars she borrowed from her brother.

She darted up to the counter to check out after gather everything she needed. The cashier smiled at her excitement. "Your first angel I assume?"

The girl nodded handing him the money. She noticed other people were calm than she was. Her cheeks turned light red, embarrassed. The cashier smiled wider as she handed Hannah her bag and receipt. "Have a nice day! I hope your angel turns out well!"

She thanked the cashier and trotted out of the door. Hannah sighed happily. She now had the raw materials for her angel. Soon she would have a beautiful angel. One that was strong too. "We'll be the best! Just like that girl in Japan we'll rise to the top of the heap!" The confident girl said, a little louder than she wanted it.

Hannah was in the seventh grade. She was an A, B student with the occasional C. She had short light brown hair it looked a little blonde too, and thin bangs. Her eyes were kind of strange, one was blue and the other was gray. It wasn't that noticeable though.

"Now to get home, I wanna do the first step!" Hannah slung the bang over her shoulder and dashed down the road.

"The first step says to open the egg in a bathroom. Near a sink or bathtub." The girl gingerly picked up the egg bringing it to the sink in her bathroom. Hannah's parents had good jobs and worked hard so they were fairly rich, not spoiled or mansion rich, but enough that each bedroom had a tiny bathroom too. It came in handy.

"Your Angel Egg is filled with shock absorbent liquid. Do Not Ingest." The liquid flowed out of the egg as she pulled the doll out. "Rinse your Angel gently in warm water. Make sure you wash all the shock absorbent liquid off. That's pretty easy." Hannah spent awhile washing the angel to make sure that it was completely clean.

Now back in her room Hannah tried to make a nice cut with her scissors. She was working on her angel's hair now. It was long pink and straight right now but she wanted it not really long or not really short either so just beyond the shoulders. She sighed looking over her work, "The ends are kind of choppy, oh well." Pulling over the bare angel she placed the pink hair on. "Now place your angel in the scanner and turn on your Data Computer. The Data computer was like a tiny laptop. As she pressed the on button the Angelic Layer logo popped on screen. Underneath a little white bar said Loading. The scanner was to rings that hovered and created a screen of light. It was quite amazing really.

"Please type in your name." The Computer said in a female, robotic voice. _Hannah Leonhart_. "Please select your Angel's parameters. Lightweight or heavyweight? Speed or Strength? Balance or Defense?" Hannah pondered this for a moment.

"I want an angel who is strong, but fast. I might need balance though too if I want a balance between strength and speed. I'm not sure why I would need balance if the layers are flat. But if you can't catch your opponent then what good is strength, I'll need a little more speed." She shrugged and sighed pressing the buttons for Lightweight, Speed, and Balance. This would give her angel speed but her attacks wouldn't be so soft.

Her mind began to wander a bit, "I want my angel to be like that ninja girl in the manga I was reading. She wasn't always battling but she believed that her teammates could win. And when she had to escort that old man she was willing to risk her life to protect his. Though she never showed it she was strong! I want my angel to be like her."

"It is now time to choose a name for your Angel." Hannah's fingers flew across the keyboard. She pressed the Enter button and then the angel began to rise from the scanner. Green eyes opened and blinked at it's new Deus. "We're gonna be the best… Sakura!"


	2. Battle 02: Practice!

Author's Note: I'm really trying to make this a good Fan fic. If anyone would be so kind as to tell me what I need to work on I would very much appreciate it

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer**

Hannah rolled over in her bed. It was a three-day weekend, so she could spend today and tomorrow practicing with Sakura and making her a battle costume. The naked angel was on the edge of the bed, next to her Deus.

The yellow and blue alarm clock buzzed as the time struck seven thirty; it finally roused the girl from her bed. Sakura was picked up and held gently by Hannah. "I guess today we'll make you a battle costume. Sunday school was cancelled so we have the whole day Sakura." Though the angel didn't respond Hannah was imagining what she would say. Maybe something like, _"Good morning Hannah!" _or _"Are we going to practice today?"_

Throwing on a pair of jeans and a plain blue t-shirt she immediately got to work. Sakura was stood upright, leaning against the bed frame; Hannah would need her to make sure everything fit.

The cord she bought Sakura was a pair of goggles colored light purple and white with a pink star on each lens. On the back a cord with a pink star dangles down by her mid-back. She thought it was a neat little cord. She placed the tiny headphones off to the side for later.

The time passed quickly. It was about three o' clock by the time she was done with Sakura's battle costume.

The costume was a sleeveless black top with white on the edge of the sleeves and collar. A small pink colored star stuck out from the black and white on her shirt. Hannah next put on the gloves, which were black with white lining and came a little past her elbow. The black went down to her knuckles, then it changed to light purple on the fingers. She wore shorts that looked layered, the top layer was black and then a slightly longer pair of shorts underneath that was colored white. Sakura's boots came up about mid thigh; colored black, it came to about her ankle and then changed to white. A pink star on each ankle was placed to sort of connect the black and white. Around her neck was a black choker with a pink star in the center. And on her back were two white wings sewed into the shirt so they looked just like a design.

Hannah examined her angel, pretty happy with her work. "I think I might need to make more armor for her arms. It was a good idea; most of her arm was unprotected, at least between the shirt and long gloves. The girl spent the next thirty minutes making small purple armbands. Both had a pink star on he side. She slipped on the bands between the gloves and shirt. "Perfect!" Hannah shouted. Something else shouted too.

_Rrrrruuuummmmbbblllle_, Hannah glanced down suddenly realizing that she had skipped lunch and breakfast, "Forgot how hungry I was. Heheheh. Let's go grab some lunch Sakura." She picked up the angel and carried her downstairs.

The clock struck four o' clock. Piffle princess stores still had a few hours till it closed. "I think we'll have just enough time to get in a good practice. They say you can practice at these rental layers at Piffle Princess." Hannah said to her angel. Sakura seemed to real that it was hard not to talk to her.

The bell attached to the door rung as she entered the shop. The cashier and a customer turned and glanced at her. The costumer waved "Hannah! Hi!" It was Allie from school. The cashier smiled and waved also, it was the same one as yesterday.

Hannah waved and smiled at both of them, "Hi Allie!" She trotted over to greet the other girl.

Allie asked for and hour and a half on a rental layer before she turned to talk to Hannah. "Are you here to buy your first angel?" she asked excitedly.

"Nope!" Hannah smiled, "I'm here to practice!"

"Really! Then come practice with me! It'll be fun and it will save money!" Allie grabbed Hannah's wrist and dragged her up the stairs.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be free-loading or anything!" Hannah said being dragged forward by the overly excited girl.

"Of course you wouldn't be free loading. We're just practicing together."

Allie had short dark brown hair and eyes to match. She was about of exactly the same height as Hannah. They had a few classes together. Hannah and Allie were never really good friends, but they never argued or anything. Allie was very willing to make friends, if she saw anyone from school she would run over and strike up a conversation. This is how she usually made friends.

The auburn haired girl opened the door to the fluffy, pinkish room. Hannah entered with a look of awe, "Whoa- Its so…"

"Pink." Allie finished. She set her bag down near one end of the practice layer.

"I was actually thinking cool but pink works I guess." She smiled nervously. Hannah took a seat at the opposite end of the layer, "by the way. What's your angels name?"

Allie glance up at Hannah pulling out her angel, "This is Lulu. It's a strange name I know but I was inspired by…"

"A really strong character! Right?"

She looked stunned, "Yeah! How did you know?"

Hannah smiled, "My angel was inspired by a strong willed character too."

The auburn haired girl smiled softly. Lulu sat on her hand looking very poised.

She had long black hair in a ponytail with two blue chopsticks. For the sticks hung a thin blue wire which held a red bell. She was a very tall angel. Built heavyweight obviously. The angel was dressed in a long dark blue robe held together by a black ribbon. Underneath you could see a little bit of her costume, black boots with stocking that went to her mid thigh that were striped with dark blue and gray. A mini skirt that was shadowed so it was hard to see and that was about it, at least what was visible.

"Lulu is pretty! You did really well with her costume. Hannah felt pretty bad, she couldn't make a costume for detailed and pretty for her own angel.

Allie glanced down, "May I see your angel?" She asked politely.

Hannah felt even worse when she forgot to take out her angel, "This is Sakura." She said placed the angel on her own hand. Sakura did not as good as Lulu did; maybe Allie was a seamstress of something? She didn't know Allie very well. Lulu was a lot larger compare to Sakura, Sakura wasn't tiny but she was still small.

"You did I a good job. You covered all the joints and vulnerable points in an angel. Her costume is really neat too. Is your angel guided by anything?"

Her reply was a confused look, "Guided? Well she's guided by me I guess…"

Allie giggled, "No silly. I mean guided by like the sun of the moon or something. Lulu is guided by the power of the Black Hole. Nothing can stand up to the Black holes in outer space it can even suck in light. I was hoping that Lulu could be strong, so strong nothing could even come close without being defeated."

This made the girl think. "That's so deep. You must have put a lot of thought into that." There were a few things Hannah knew about Allie. She knew that Allie loved studying Space and liked to play video games. "I haven't thought about it yet."

"That's okay. Hey we need to start practicing. We've already spent about five minutes."

"EEKS!" Hannah looked at the clock. "Lets get started then and quick!" She pulled on the headset and turned it on. Hannah only knew how to do this because she read a manual earlier that came with her angel. "Now I put on the cord," she slipped the goggle on Sakura head. And she goes into the layer… Hannah held Sakura over the practice layer. The angel just stood there on her hand.

"You've got to think, _jump into the layer_," Allie said.

Sakura leapt from her Deus's hand and landed rather roughly.

"Good, now you have to think about how you want her to move, like jumping or running. Try opening her eyes."

A pair of green eyes opened and blinked a few times. Hannah tried something else, Sakura smiled as the command was sent.

"You made her smile at me!" Allie said excitedly. She held her hand over the layer and in dropped Lulu, with a couple of fancy twirls before her landing. Her red eyes opened as she touched the layer.

Sakura looked up at the graceful angel, with a look of awe. Lulu looked down at Sakura and smiled, and then she started jogging. "You want to try and run her now?" Allie asked; she was using Lulu to show Hannah how to run.

Hannah nodded, she thought hard and Sakura jogged slowly after Lulu. She was a little wobbly but quickly straightened up and was able to go faster. In a minute she was outrunning the larger angel. Hannah smiled, it was a contagious smile as her angel smiled followed by Lulu and Allie.

Lulu stopped running, she started punching the air; as if some invisible opponent jumped down and suddenly challenged her. Hannah was confused for a moment but she understood now. Allie was trying to teach her how to move. It was like follow the leader. Sakura started punching she started out wobbly and off but improved until she was punching in unison with Lulu.

This game of follow the leader continued with moves like kicking, battle positions, dancing, spins, flips, cartwheels, and more. They were coming to the last ten minutes of practice, "For a newbie your able to move Sakura pretty well."

Sakura did a cartwheel before Hannah replied, "Thanks for teaching me."

Lulu back flipped and landed very gracefully. Sakura copied landing rather well herself. "Would you like to battle? We only have a few minutes but it'll be fun." Lulu took a spot on the opposite side of the layer that Sakura was on.

She didn't have to respond. Sakura jumped to the opposite end and took a battle position Lulu had taught her. Allie was ready to say "Angelic Fight" when the layer shut down and the angels closed their eyes and shut down themselves. "I guess were out of time. Oh well." Allie picked up her angel and gently placed Lulu in her bag. "Hey, are you going to enter the tournament next week?"

Hannah picked up Sakura then blinked at Allie, "Could I?"

"Do you have an angel card yet?"

"What are those and how do I get one?" Hannah asked putting Sakura in her bag.

Allie opened the door to leave, "Just enter a public tournament and they'll send you yours. Angel Cards are a way to rack up points for battles you win. You can earn cool prizes and you can use it to buy regular things like armor fabric at Piffle Princess. Try and find a public tournament tomorrow and they'll send you your card. Once you get your card then you can enter any tournament." Allie waved good-bye before she headed out of the door.

_When we entera tournament we'll win for sure Sakura! _Hannah thought heading out of the door herself. _I promise_.


	3. Battle 03: The challenge has been Issued

**Author's Note: I really enjoy writing this story. And I really hope you all like it.**

**The story so far: Hannah has finished Sakura's costume and gotten in some practice with Allie and her Angel Lulu. Right before they were about to battle their time runs out. This may be good or bad seeing as how Hannah doesn't know how Lulu fights now. Who knows when Allie and Hannah will be able to battle? All will be revealed in the upcoming chapters of Against the Odds.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer, or FFX or Naruto . **

Sakura sat on the edge of the table, hand resting beside her. Hannah was busy cooking. "Lesee… Add four to five blueberries per pancake. Only four of five? Let's make it nine!" Hannah wasn't a very good cook, but she had about forty-five minutes to kill before she would go find a public tournament.

Instead of her normal T-shirt and jeans get-up Hannah decided to wear something a little less… grungy I guess would be the word for it. She wore a sleeveless orange shirt under a green spaghetti strap and cuffed jeans. This was all under the blue apron she wore to make breakfast.

"Eeks!" Hannah pulled the pan off the oven. Her burnt pancakes sizzled at her. "Maybe not so many blue berries next time…" She dropped the pancakes on her plates and plopped down to eat. She chewed it very fast and held her nose most of the time. "I've lost my appetite." Hannah said scraping off her plate. "Let's just head out."

With Sakura safely tucked away in her small red backpack Hannah trotted down the stairs towards the door. A small blue note was scotch taped onto the doorknob.

_Squirt,_

_Hope you are successful in your stupid doll tournament. Dad won't be home till late so I'm in charge though. Don't miss curfew unless you want a swirlie._

_-Lance_

"I hate it when he calls me that." Hannah grumbled at the stupid nicknames her brother gave her. She re-stuck the note back to the door, semi-crumpled and trotted out.

It was a nice day, a little cloudy but a little colder than usual. It was almost summer so being a tad cold was nice once in awhile. The first place to look for a tournament would be over near Piffle Princess. If not she could just ask someone there anyway. "Maybe Allie will be there." She had the urge to get another look at Lulu.

Piffle Princess wasn't actually that far. It was only about half a mile, only fifteen minutes if she walked and ten if she decided to run. She decided to run. The sidewalks were clear, it seemed as if everyone had suddenly deserted the town. This was a good thing, less people staring and less people to dodge while running.

Piffle Princess was just around the corner. So was a whole lot of yelling. "Huh?" Hannah peeked around the corner; there was a large stage in the parking lot of Piffle princess. Lots of people cheering as two angels fought. From Hannah's position she could only see two dots on a layer. Then one dot was suddenly flung in one direction and landed with a sickening thud.

"VICTORY GOES TO ALLIE SULLIVAN AND ANGEL LULU!" The announcer applauded and so did the lulu fans, which was basically the whole crowd.

The blue and gray-eyed girl gasped. "Allie!" she darted towards the crowd but was unable to get through and was pushed back out into the open area of the parking lot. The only was she would be able to see Allie was if she went on stage, but by the time Hannah realized this, the Angel and Deus were gone.

With a sighed she glanced up at the stage, "Angelic Layer Public Tournament. Walk-ins welcome!" Read the sign. Perfect.

"And what are your names?" asked the announcer to a girl who was probably a walk-in. "Katie Reese. And Ariel." She said cheerfully pointing to the red haired Angel sitting upon her shoulder.

The announcer turned towards the crowd, "all right. We need a challenger for Ms. Reese here! Any challengers out there?" no one seemed to respond, "Anyone?"

"I will!" Hannah said running towards the stage. She jumped, almost crawled on, not noticing the stairs next to her.

Katie and the announcer smiled, "And what are your names?" he asked, Katie echoed.

Sakura was removed from her backpack and placed on her hand, "I'm Hannah Leonhart. This is Sakura." She smiled.

"The challenge has been issued! Angel Sakura versus Angel Ariel! Deuses take your places!" A roar of excitement swept through the crowd as Katie and Hannah put on the headset and unfolded the wings.

"Lets get ready to rumble!" The announcer yelled into his microphone. Hannah could not help but giggle. "Angels to the layer!" The pink haired angel fell in first doing a cartwheel off Hannah's hand and onto the layer. Sakura put one hand on her hip and shifted her weight to the left, with this cocky grin plastered to her face. There was no doubt that Hannah was completely confident in her angel.

Ariel fell in next, literally spinning of her Deus's hand. She had long red hair shocking blue eyes. Mostly she was dressed in purple fabrics from the waist up and green from the waist down. She returned the cocky look with one of her own, arms crossed over her chest and her headed cocked to the side.

"Angel Sakura, Angel Ariel." The announcer paused to heighten the suspense. "ANGELIC FIGHT!"

Quick Note: Sorry its short. I wanted to finish this whole chapter today, fight and all but I'm out of time. I'll put up the fight in the next chapter and upload it real soon!

** ve1vet**


	4. Battle 04: Angelic Fight!

**Author's Note: I promised you guy's chapter four so here it is. Enjoy, and don't forget to give me reviews on what you think would make the story better.**

**Ve1vet**

**Disclaimer: I don't own AL, Naruto, or FFX. Though I wish I did.

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"May the power of the sea be with you always Ariel." Said Katie just loud enough so Hannah could hear.

"We may not have anything guiding you yet Sakura but I promise to give you my best." Hannah whispered so no one could hear.

Ariel was the first to move. She charged forward with her arm outstretched as if to knock Sakura over. Hannah wasn't expecting this, "Eek!" Sakura fell down, avoiding the hit but also looking sort of embarrassed.

"Uh oh. Guess Ms. Leonhart panicked. Sakura is a sitting duck now." The announcer said watching the battle very closely.

_A sitting duck? Oh no. We'll just have to try and stay on our feet. _Sakura stood up again waiting for another attack; _we'll be ready this time. _Hannah tried to concentrate more.

The red haired angel came again but was in for a little surprise. Sakura leapt forward grabbed Ariel's shoulders and actually balanced herself on top of the other Angel. Katie watched in horror, Ariel began shutting down as Katie paid attention to Sakura's moves instead of helping Ariel.

Lading back on her feet, still holding onto Ariel's shoulders Sakura threw Ariel off the layer with all of her might. Ariel almost stayed on, she could have had she not shut down. "Ariel!" Katie pulled off the headset and dashed over to her angel.

"Layer out, Ariel! Victory Sakura!" the announcer shouted. There was a roar from the excited crowd.

Hannah picked up her Angel and gave her a hug. Katie was crouched on the ground picking up her angel. Hannah trotted over with the pink haired angel on her hand. "Is Ariel alright?" she asked kneeling down next to Katie. The girl nodded, "That was a great fight, you gave me a run for my money till the end." Hannah said holding out her hand, "I'm really glad I fought you."

Katie smiled, "Have you been playing Angelic Layer for awhile. I mean very few speed angels could pull off a move like that."

"Actually I've only been playing for an hour and a half. Sakura is a speed and balance angel. I think she's mostly speed though."

The girl was shocked to hear that Hannah had only been playing for a little while. "I built Ariel with a maximum emphasis on power, but she was also built lightweight. Someone told me that certain parameters in your angels cause bad weaknesses. I accidentally made Ariel with bad parameters. It's not that she has a disadvantage but it's harder to win. Sakura is built very well. Balance allowed her to do that balancing act on Ariel's shoulders and it gives her a little more power and defense. You did a good job."

"You did a good job on Ariel too. I almost didn't win." Hannah smiled, "I think we have to get off the stage now. I would like to battle you again sometime."

"Alright! We'll battle again really soon!"

"So what do you think Chief? We're already sending out her angel card."

"She will be a very strong. She believes in her angel, even based it off a strong character. Doesn't that remind you of someone?"

There was a small giggle, that of a teenage girl probably.

The woman's popped up from the darkness of the room again, "Yes it does. But I'm afraid things will not be so easy for Miss Leonhart next time. Katie wasn't concentrating when Ariel needed her help, So Ariel layered out because she shut down and couldn't stay on the layer. Sakura got lucky."

"Still, I think she's going to be great."

"Our Angel card should be here soon. We're going to win lots of battles and rack up points so we can buy more things for you Sakura." Hannah said holding her Angel. "I promised to give you my best and I did. We won our first battle! Now we'll enter the tournament with Allie and Lulu." Hannah grinned, "And after the tournament we'll got to the nationals!" Hannah glanced down at her Angel; it looked like Sakura was, smiling.

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Angelic Layer Pay-per-View **

**In the East corner we have the longshot newbie Leonhart Hannah and Angel Sakura! In the west corner we have Armstrong Tonya and Angel Rose! Who will win the beautiful Rose or the short-lived Sakura? It's a flower face-off here at the Angelic Layer Reigonal Tournament! order your's now by calling your cable company.**

(Don't really call them and ask for Angelic Layer )


	5. Battle 05: Flower Power?

Author's Note: Someone asked why was Sakura mentioned as short-lived? We'll Sakura flowers, or cherry blossoms live for a very short period of time. Only about a month or a month and a half. The announcer was describing the flower really, not much about Angel Sakura. Sorry if that confused some of you, my apologies.

**Disclaimer I don't own Angelic Layer, Naruto, or FFX**

Sakura back flipped landing in a crouching position. She glanced up at hr opponent with a deadly glare. Both Angels stared at each other long and hard. They were down to the last thirty seconds. Sakura and Naru both equally damaged. Twenty seconds now.

They charged, this blow would decide who wins. "Sakura!" Hannah called and both Angels kicked with all the strength they had. There was a small explosion it seemed like. The Angels both flew off the layer.

"It's a draw! Both Sakura and Naru have been thrown off the layer! This calls for Sudden Death! Angels back to the layer!" Their hit point gauges were refilled, but the screen read 'Sudden Death', "The first one to land a hit on the other wins the match. Now… Naru, Sakura. Angelic Fight!"

It was over in a second. Maybe, even less than a second. Sakura didn't even attack. Naru came charging at full speed, Sakura leapt to the side and the other Angel couldn't stop in time. "Layer out? I thought this was Sudden Death!" the announcer said into the microphone, "Sakura wins!"

The crowd cheered, some sat in silence as they watched Angel Naru fall. Sakura put a hand on her hip and smiled. She shut down as Hannah turned off the headset and picked up the fallen Angel. Naru's Deus ran over, "Naru!"

"She's fine. There doesn't seem to be a permanent damage." Hannah handed the Angel back to her Deus. Sam, Naru's Deus, smiled weakly then hopped off the stage and disappeared down the road.

Hannah had entered as many public tournaments as she could. Her Angel card was supposed to arrive today and the Regional tournament started in two days. She had learned a lot about Sakura and about battling. Sakura was stronger against speed Angels and had to go on the defensive against power Angels. Deuses usually watched Sakura instead of their own Angels if she did some curious spins and then struck a hard blow while their guard was down. It was a good move but it only made the Deuses' more careful against Sakura.

"It's time to go home now Sakura. Lance will kill me if were not home soon." She put Sakura in her backpack and ran towards her house. Despite having won all of her battles Hannah was still considered a long shot to almost everyone. It was strange, she and Sakura seemed to be really strong maybe unstoppable. _Why do people underestimate us?_

Her thoughts were interrupted as the mailman pulled up to her house. Impeccable timing, Hannah had just arrived too. She waited patiently as he placed only a few letters in their box and drove away. Hannah went ripping through the mail, "Report card, bills, junk, junk, bills, …" she paused as a pink letter stuck out from the other white ones.

_To: Leonhart, Hannah and Angel Sakura_

She squealed picking up the mail and darting into her house. She ignored her brother as she ran up the stairs.

"So how badly did you lose," Hannah was already closing the door to her room before he had even gotten to the second word of his insult, "Squirt?"

"Sakura our Angel Card is here!" She jumped onto her blue and white bed immediately tearing the letter open. Out popped a letter, some papers, and a laminated card. Hannah examined the letter,

_Dear Miss Leonhart,_

_All of us at Angelic Layer hope you are having much fun and are very successful with your new angel. Included in this letter is you ranking out of all the Deuses in America with cards, the amount of points you have so far, the prizes you can spend your points on, and your Angel Card. You are now eligible to enter tournaments of any kind. Have fun!_

_Sincerely,_

_Chief Mihara_

First she read her ranking, Hannah Leonhart, 901 out of 1,025. That wasn't very encouraging. Her point balance was four hundred, that isn't really a lot. The prize list was the best of all. The best prize cost about 300,000 points. It was a pair of wings that were probably just for decoration. Still, they were beautiful. The card had her name and Sakura's name on it, she tucked it into a special small bag she bought just for Sakura.

"We've already registered for the tournament in two days Sakura. Do you think we're ready?" Hannah pulled the angel out of the bag. She had to pretend that Sakura replied, "I think so too."

Two days went by in a flash; Allie was very quiet during school. Whenever Hannah waved she waved back then turned and pretended to be busy. _Has she been avoiding me? I wonder why._ Hannah had to shrug this off; she couldn't be worried at all. All her focus had to be on Sakura and the tournament after-school.

Allie left during fourth period, which was History. The whole day she had been coughing, her face was pale, and she seemed very weak. It was very strange, more so than her not talking to Hannah. There were lots of rumors going around that Allie suddenly became sick with something and had spent almost a week in the hospital.

_That can't be true. Allie will miss the tournament then! I think she was okay at the public tournament two days ago. _Hannah thought walking toward the bus stop. The Regional tournament started in an hour and a half. Lance refused to drive her so she had to take a bus. The bus trip would take roughly forty-five minutes so that left her just enough time to check in once she got there.

Hannah hopped on the bus, one little girl pointed at her and whispered to her mother about something. The mother nodded and told her daughter to stop pointing.

About two other Deuses were on the bus to her surprise. They wore different uniforms than each other, and a different one from her own. The first Deus was a pretty Asian looking girl with her hair tied in a bun. She was gently brushing her Angel's hair with a tiny doll comb. The angel had mossy colored hair tied in a bun like her Deus's, which looked very cute. The second Deus and bobbed blonde hair, and brown eyes that stared down at her own Angel. Her angel had short black hair as well, they sort of matched too. _I look nothing like Sakura; maybe I should have made her look a little like me. _Hannah thought taking a seat next to a boy who was reading a guidebook to a video game.

Immediately after sitting down Hannah pulled Sakura from her backpack and started making sure she was in proper working order. A few people turned to take a look at the Angel, some seemed interested but other just turned around and stared out of the window. The boy next to her took one look at Sakura and said, "Hey! An Angel!"

Almost everyone turned to stare at Hannah, who began turning red. She looked up at him shyly, "You like Angelic Layer?" she asked trying not to catch any more attention than she already had.

"Heck Yeah! It's so awesome!" The boy had black spiky/messy hair and brown eyes. His clothes were pretty baggy and sort of clashed.

"Can I see your angel?" Hannah asked, at least she thought he would have an Angel.

"Sorry. I don't play." He sighed, "I wish I did. But it's too complicated. I only watch from the audience."

"Are you going to the Regional tournament then?" she paused, "By the way I'm Hannah, this is Sakura. What's your name?"

"Yes, Are you going to enter? I'm Zack."

"Of course." She smiled, Sakura now sat seiza in her lap s she talked up a storm with Zack.

The two were fast friends, Zack told her everything he knew about Angelic Layer and gave her helpful tips. Hannah told Zack everything she knew about the game and how easy it was to make an Angel. The two were sad to see the ride end, the two Deuses up front were off first followed by Hannah and Zack and others that came to see the tournament.

The building was huge, I mean utterly massive. A sign written in bright letters that said "Deus check in" was taped to a pillar. "I've gotta go. Wish us luck?" Hannah said.

"'Course. I'll cheer for ya!" Zack waved as she darted off to check in. He made his way towards the building but took a strange route into the Video Room.

"So did you learn anything from our little friend?"

"Yep."

"Alright Layer fans! You've been waiting for this tournament and now were givin' it to you! To start off the festivities we have two rookie Deuses! Give it up for Christina Tice and Angel Rooooooose!" The crowd screamed as Christina appeared in the arena with the flower like Angel on her hand.

"Now! This little lady and her Angel haven't lost a battle yet! Deus Hannah Leonhart and Angel Sakura!" the crowd roared again, not as loud as they did for Rose but pretty loud. Sakura rested on Hannah's shoulder as the two sepped into the arena. "It's battle of the flowers! Who will win? The beautiful Rose, or the lovely Sakura? Angels to the Layer!"

The Deuses put on the headsets and sent the Angels to the large layer. Rose landed ever so gracefully. She was very tall, built with a maximum emphasis on power. She wore a pinkish dress with lots of ruffles, and long boots with high heels. Her hair was a green color and her eyes emerald like Sakura's.

"Now… Angelic Fight!" the announcer _and _the crowd roared.

Sakura was the first to make a move. Rose crossed her arms almost daring the pink-haired Angel to attack. _Attack Now!_ Hannah commanded. Sakura swung her leg up to land a sharp blow to Rose's side.

The crowd gasped, Rose had blocked! She held Sakura by her leg, smirking. The speed angel was flung across the layer. "Sakura hang on!" Hannah cried. Her Angel barely managed to stay on the layer. Hit points were deducted and the screen for the audience showed the damage delivered to Sakura. It was obvious there was some damage in her leg now.

She struggled to her feet, barely there before another blow was delivered. Rose had come up behind her while the Angel was down. Easily she could have knocked the enemy Angel out of the layer, but she was toying with Sakura. "Poor Sakura! She's being thrown about like a rag doll! Hannah what will you do?"

Sakura's hit points were going down dramatically. _What can I do? If Sakura gets up Rose will attack her again. I have to stop Rose's momentum. _Hannah stood Sakura up. She put her guard down, the crowd gasped again. "Sakura what are you doing!" The announcer's voice blared from the speakers.

"That was pretty stupid of you. If you were just going to let me end it now then you have not been a worthy opponent."

"Your sure?" Hannah said cheerfully.

Rose charged, she wasn't very fast though. It gave Hannah sometime to gain some concentration. A sickening crunch was heard and Rose dealt another blow to the suffering Angel. Another sickening crunch was heard as Sakura held onto her leg and twisted it. Rose's leg would probably be permanently damaged. Sakura let go of her leg and tried her old grab-the-shoulders move. Rose dropped as her damaged leg gave out on her. The pink-haired angel grabbed Rose's shoulder; flipped taking the power angel with her. Rose was slammed on her neck and back, her hit points hit zero and the crowd roared. Some of the crowd booed as well.

"What a come back! Angel Sakura did it! Victory goes to Hannah Leonhart!"

Christina could only stare. Her angel was damaged badly. Sakura walked over to where Rose lay, picked up the Angel as best as she could (since Rose was tall it was kind of hard) and slowly walked her over to Christina. She set the power angel down and ran back toward Hannah's end of the layer.

"Christina! I'm so sorry!" Hannah ran over to the other Deus.

"It's alright. Rose will be okay." She turned around, but she was crying, "Sakura proved her worth in the layer. You built her well. It's not only just building a strong Angel but it's also in the Deus's will to win. I just hope you win." With that she turned and ran away, leaving Hannah to her thoughts.

Hannah glanced down at Sakura. "Thank you very much. For trying so hard."


	6. Battle 06: Kuro vs Sakura!

**Author's Note: Last chapter took me awhile because it was so long. I would have made Rose and Sakura's battle longer if the whole kit and caboodle hadn't been four pages by the time I got to it. I'll make this battle nice and looong…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer or Naruto. Or any crossovers from "Fight! Kurokoneko"**

**Angelic Layer Pay-Per-View!**

**Kurokoneko vs. Sakura **

**Power vs. Balance**

**All the way from the Big Island, Hawaii we have Lina and her Angel Kurokoneko, Black Kitten. And from Virginia we have Hannah and Angel Sakura. Power Angels can easily knock off tiny speed ones, but can Kuro knock balance Angel Sakura off the layer?**

**Order Now!**

**(This was in my reviews. Quote: **I hope that maybe Sakura will be able to fight Hawaii's Kurokoneko? **Unquote. So yeah. Made a crossover kind of chapter. This chapter is dedicated to motokonobaka)

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Allie coughed, it was hard to keep her concentration on Lulu while she felt half-dead. Lulu stared down at her small opponent. "This has gone on long enough. Attack now Lulu!" The black Angel swung her kept down striking a deadly blow that hurled the enemy Angel off the layer.

"Victory goes to Lulu and Deus Allie Sullivan!" the crowd screamed excitedly. Allie picked up her Angel and immediately headed to the Deus waiting room. All the battling was taking a toll on her already poor health.

"Huh?" Hannah whirled around as the announcer yelled, "Victory goes to Lulu and Deus Allie Sullivan!"

"I missed Allie's battle!" Hannah had been busy fixing Sakura she hadn't bee paying attention to the little TV in the waiting room. It played all the matches going on, though most people didn't pay attention.

Over the intercom a woman's voice came on, "Lina and Hannah please report to the layer. Your battle is next."

_I wonder who Lina is? _Hannah thought as she stepped outside. _Well Sakura is fixed now so I bet we can take her._ She tried her best to think positive, but after that close call in her battle with Rose Hannah was starting to doubt her skills as a Deus.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We are in the middle of the B block Regional tournaments! Next on the layer we have two girls who got some skills! In the East corner Deus Hannah Leonhart and Angel Sakura! This little lady has already taken down Angel Rose, and has only been playing for about three hours in total.

"In the West corner a girl who came all the way from the Big Island, Hawaii for a shot at the Nationals Deus Lina and Angel Kurokoneko!"

A black haired girl dressed in a black stepped into the arena. Resting on her hand was an Angel with two long red ponytails. She was dressed in a green kimono, a one-piece dress underneath, and long black stockings. Lots of black ribbons were tied upon her arms with a collar that bore a bell for a necklace. The final piece was the cord that was attached like a tail. Another stunningly well made Angel.

"Angels head to the layer!" The crowd roared with excitement. The background music that had been playing was completely drowned out by the noise. Sakura and Kuro were sent to the layer. Sakura landed softly but wobbly, her emerald eyes opened, but had a nervous look to them. Kuro landed perfectly, her shocking green eyes opened and she flashed a grin. The cat like Angel was much taller, made to hold lots of power.

_Angels reflect their Deus's emotions. I can't show any fear! _Hannah thought, but it wasn't helping Sakura out one bit. The announcer didn't give them anytime to prepare, "Alright ladies! Angelic Fight!" he pronounced it like F-height.

Sakura didn't move, _I can't make the first move. Something bad usually happens when I do._ She forced Kuro to make the first move. Hannah's plan was to _not _make the first move so she could dodge or block but her plan backfired and Sakura got hit. An axe-kick had come down sharply on her shoulder and knocked her down. Kuro leapt backwards.

The pink-haired angel came to her feet. _We're ready this time. _Hannah thought. She charged towards Kuro but instead of making an attack she leapt over the other angel. Landing in the center of the layer Sakura took a battle position. Kuro spun around, coming again with her deadly kick.

"Now!" Sakura reached and grabbed Kuro's leg. She flipped forwards and tried to throw the other angel out of the layer. Her attack was unsuccessful. Sakura was a lightweight while Kuro was a middleweight. She didn't have enough weight to unbalance the power Angel.

"Sakura tries her usual attempt at making Kuro layer out but she doesn't seem to have enough weight to unbalance Kuro! What now?"

"Let's go Kurokoneko…" Lina said, "We've only begun to get serious!"

"Uh oh! Miss Lina looks serious! Is Sakura about to be knocked out of the tournament?" the announced said rhetorically. The crowd held their breath all eyes on the Angels. Both Angels charged, jumping at almost the same time and were high above the layer. This would be the final blow.

"We must win Sakura…" Hannah whispered. The Pink-haired Angel grabbed for Kuro's legs, locking on tight. What goes up must come down. They started falling, everyone in the arena leaned forward in their seats as the green and black dots fell back onto the layer. It was like an explosion. Some smoke flew up blocking the view. The screen started calculating the damage. Both had taken a hard hit.

The smoke cleared, Sakura had managed to keep from hitting the layer directly by pulling Kuro down in front of her to take the first hit. She managed to keep a few points while the other gauge was empty. It took a few seconds but she managed to stand up. "Sakura wins!"

Lina picked up Kurokoneko. Hannah ran over after picking up her Angel, "That was a great battle. You're a really strong Deus, Lina. I'm sure you'll win the regional tournament back in Hawaii."

"Thanks. We will!" she said confidently. The two girls laughed, "let's battle again some time."

"Alright!" Hannah held out her hand, "Good match?"

"Yeah." The Deuses shook hands.

The crowd roared and applauded. "We have one more round to go before we announced the Deus's that will move on to the finals!"

"I guess we have to go now! Bye Lina!" Hannah said as she turned and headed to the waiting room.

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**Doing that crossover was fun but now I'm afraid Kurokoneko fans will hurt me now. Sakura needed a win to stay in the tournament. Otherwise if this was in motokonobaka's story I'm sure Kuro would have won. Understand? Don't shoot me!**

**-velvet**


	7. Battle 07: Semi Finals are over!

**Author's Note: The last chapter for the Regional Tournaments. We're gearing up for the finals!**

**Disclaimer: I down own Angelic Layer, or Naruto or… whatever.

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Sakura did a cartwheel across the layer. She was showing off her balance to the enemy angel. She continued spinning towards the other Angel, making it let its guard down. As soon as Hannah was sure the Deus was focused on Sakura she struck a deadly blow. Angel Kat was kicked out of the layer.

"There it is folks! Sakura's beautiful spins have won her another match! And that concludes our Regional Tournament semi-finals!" the audience exploded in cheers as all remaining Deus's reported to the arena in a single-file line. Hannah took off her headset and headed to the back of the line. "Well folks, we have some amazing Deus's here who have shown some amazing skills. Now we'll announce those who move onto the Finals!"

Almost all the girls were crossing their fingers. "Deus Allie Sullivan!" The person working the lights above shone a light down on Allie. "Deus Nina Parker! Deus Kira Robins! And Deus Hannah Leonhart!"

Hannah was shocked as a light fell upon her. The other six who didn't make it left the arena. The crowd applauded as the four Deus's smiled. A few people chanted "Sakura" over and over, others held up posters saying, "We love Lulu". Hannah felt a little dizzy, maybe a little sick. The lights were really hot and all the screaming gave you a headache.

Kira, Nina, and Allie walked off to exit the arena. Hannah followed Allie; well… she tried to catch up. Allie was already down the long hallway by the time she even came near it. Hannah ran to catch up. She hauled down the hallway into the lobby and out into the parking lot. Her friend was already being escorted to her car. She coughed violently all the way there.

"What's wrong Allie…" She whispered to herself.

"I'd like two hours please!" Hannah said cheerfully to the employee dressed in an Angel like uniform.

"Why aren't you miss Hannah Leonhart? I watched you on the television the other day. Very impressive for a first-timer." The employee said in a southern accent. She handed the girl a key to room twelve while Hannah paid for her practice time.

"Thank you." Hannah said, "I gotta go practice now." She wasn't sure if the employee hadn't wanted to chat or not but she had other chores to do right after practice. Hannah was pulling out Sakura from her backpack, not watching where she was going. Another person, a black haired boy wasn't exactly paying attention either. Need I say what happened?

"Oof!" Both exclaimed falling back. Sakura dropped, and landed on her back just like the other two. Hannah shook her head and picked up her Angel. "I'm so sorry!" she said standing up. "I wasn't paying attention and—Zack?"

"Hey! It's Hannah and Sakura-chan." He only used an honorific for Sakura… Zack looked a little Japanese so she wasn't exactly surprised he used an honorific. "I'm just guessing that you based Sakura off the Sakura from that ninja book people are always reading?"

Hannah turned a little red, "Yeah! How'd ya know?"

"Everybody at school reads it. I heard some people talking about your Angel and how it looked like Sakura from Naruto. I haven't read it though." He rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry if you're confused by the honorific. My parents are originally from Japan. They use them all the time. It's kinda rubbed off on me. By the way are you here to practice?"

"It's alright. Sakura-chan sounds cute. And yes, I am. What are you doing here?"

Zack paused for a moment looking away, "I was thinking of buying my own Angel today."

Hannah's eyes lit up with excitement, "Really! That would be so cool!" The clock on the wall caught her eye and she gasped, "I've got to go practice. I'm sorry Zack but I can't talk. I hope your Angel turns out well!" she said running down the hall to room twelve.

_Kick. Now spin. Run forward, faster. Turn left, top speed. Back flip. Twirl. I'm exhausted. _Hannah's mind was exhausted. She worked really hard and only had about five minutes left anyway. _Let's say we call it a day, Sakura?_

The Angel plopped down and looked exhausted. Angels reflect their Deus's hearts and minds. So Sakura was probably exhausted too. Hannah giggled; the little Angel smiled up at her Deus. _I was talking to Allie on the phone for about five minutes yesterday. She told me to make you jump off the layer. Let's try. _

Sakura stood up again took a running started and leaped off the layer. She became lifeless as she exited the layer, but landed safely in Hannah's hands. Hannah giggled like crazy. "That was so cool! Next time we practice we'll do it again. We only have a week till the Finals so we have to practice really hard next time!"

Zack peered into the room Hannah rented. She seemed to be having lots of fun. Sakura plopped down and smiled up at her. He glanced down at the Angel Egg in his arms. "We can be just as good." Zack smiled, "Maybe we'll be even better than Hannah and Sakura. I just hope we never have to fight them in a tournament."

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**Note: Okay I know there was like no action in that chapter. I promise the next one will be exciting.**


	8. Battle 08: Where's Sakura?

**Author's Note: I promised that this would be an exciting chapter but it should be more emotional that exciting I guess. Hannah's about to have a very bad day. I can tell ya that much.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer or Naruto.

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Hannah trotted home humming a theme song to some anime. It was bright and sunny out today, and warm. Summer was almost here. Everyone was in a happy mood it seemed. The Finals were in five days, and everyone was excited.

Her mom's car was parked out front, which was unusual seeing as her mother worked till six o' clock. "I guess she's home early." Hannah shrugged. One other car was parked outside her house. It wasn't familiar, "Mom brought friends over?" That was even more unusual than her being home early.

The door opened and two tall men dressed like secret service stepped out. "Thank you for your time Mrs. Leonhart." They were kind of scary, both had jet-black hair that was really shiny and pulled into a ponytail. Hannah stepped out of their way as the got into the unfamiliar car and sped away out of her neighborhood.

Her mother obviously hadn't noticed her, seeing as she shut the door quickly and ran inside. Amy Leonhart was really shy around people, she usually worked alone at her office and had other people go to meetings for her and just give her notes they took.

The blue and gray-eyed girl ran inside, "Hi Mom!" Hannah said cheerfully as she passed the kitchen and ran upstairs. Her door slammed shut before Amy could say something to her daughter. Something that was very important.

_She'll be so upset. My poor little Hannah. I don't think I can bear to tell her._ Amy thought sadly. _Lance will be home soon. I hope he doesn't tease her and make things worse._

Hannah dropped her backpack flopping onto her bed. Her dresser next to her bed where she kept Sakura bounced a little. "Sorry Saku. I didn't mean to rattle you or-" she glanced over to where she kept her Angel. And screamed.

Amy flinched counting the seconds until Hannah would come running out of her room.

"Mom!" Hannah barreled down the stairs, "Sakura's gone!"

She cried into her hands. _Why? Why my Angel? _He parents were talking about the situation outside. Lance sat on the other side of her bed. He didn't dare say anything, for fear of another round of tears.

Hannah listened to the conversation going outside. "Why would they think Hannah cheated?"

"They've never lost a battle. Even against stronger opponents."

"Still. They didn't have any proof. How could the Angelic Layer security just walk into our house and take her Angel."

"It says on the directions that Angelic Layer Inc. had the rights to confiscate any Angel if they think there was foul play involved in your battles. If they check her Angel out and find that she hadn't been cheating then they'll give it back."

"…" There was a pause. The silence made Hannah cry more. _I wasn't cheating. I never did. Why did they have to take Sakura away? The finals are in four days. What if they don't bring her back? _She cried harder, the tears staining her school skirt.

Lance looked over at his sister with a pained expression. He sighed, "For what it's worth I don't think you cheated."

"T-h-h-hanks." Hannah said between tears. Her throat was hot, scratchy, and tight. It was hard to form words. She gasped for air after that one word and continued crying.

He seemed angry that Hannah didn't stop crying. "If you know that you didn't cheat then you have to believe they'll bring it back. Crying won't get your stupid toy back."

"Sakura's not stupid!" her throat cleared instantly, "Sakura is my friend! They have to bring her back!" she let the last tears fall before becoming silent.

A smirk etched itself on her brother's face, "At least I got 'cha to stop crying."

"Thanks."

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**Eek! Not really exciting at all. Mostly emotional I guess. Okay so I promise the battles will be exciting. **


	9. Battle 09: Cry of the Blue Wolf

**Note: There should be some more excitement in this chapter. I'm really really excited to do the next chapters, I'll be introducing Zack's angel then. And trust me it'll be awesome. And his angel may be a little shocking. Were actually coming to an end of ATO but I'll try and stretch it out to a few more chapter after the ones I plan on doing next. Anyways, enjoy.**

**Sincerely,**

**-Ve1**

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"Did you see Hannah this morning? It's pitiful!"

"I know! She's worse then Allie."

"Too bad Allie's going to miss the award ceremony on the last day."

"I heard that Hannah was caught cheating against a bunch of people and now her Angel's being taken away."

"Well I heard that she's been secretly drugging her opponent before the match so that way they wouldn't be able to battle well."

"Wait! I heard…"

The rumors wouldn't stop. Hannah could only watch helplessly as the people who were once her friends spread horrible rumors about Sakura. _I never did anything. Why are they saying such horrible things?_ On Thursday, the last day of school, she had walked home flopped down on her bed and cried. She had been doing this all week. Everything was going wrong.

Sakura had been confiscated and was being taken apart piece-by-piece to find anything that would help her cheat. Allie was out of school and had not been heard from since the semi-finals. Lance was packing up to go to college; even though she fought with him all the time she would miss her older brother. And to top it all off today was the day of the Finals, and there was no Sakura. So that was it. Sakura was gone, along with her dreams of being top dog. Worst of all, she broke her promise. The promise that she would be the best and that Sakura would be the best.

**10: 30 am, Friday, Day of the Finals**

Only about three and half hours to the Finals. Lance had woken up a few hours ago and had just left after he got a phone call. Probably from his girlfriend. His summer vacation had begun on Monday so it was okay he left at seven fifteen in the morning driving to who knows where.

Hannah was lying on her bed, thinking about all the battles she and Sakura fought. The time they met Lulu, how Sakura brought her and Allie closer together. Sakura won against Rose despite the odds. Sakura spun gracefully on the layer, dancing like an angel, even against the odds. Sakura. But Hannah had been controlling Sakura, which made the Angel even more important.

_I'll never play Angelic Layer again. Not without Sakura. We're a team and if I fight with another Angel that's like betraying my Angel. My friend. I'll never-_ tears welled in her eyes, but it was something other than the fresh round of tears that disrupted her thoughts. Lance was back.

"You kiddo. Ain't 'cha going to the Finals?"

Hannah rolled over so her back faced him, "No. I'll never play Angelic Layer again!"

He rolled his eyes, "That's too bad. You did a pretty good job on that stupid doll. You can make another, better one. Can't 'cha?"

"No! I said I'd never play Angelic Layer again! Not without Sakura!"

Her brother sighed and closed the door halfway. Hannah heard him go down the hallway, but heard him come back, "Here. Think fast." He threw something at her.

It was a pink haired Angel. A familiar pink-haired Angel. It was Sakura, "SAKURA!" Hannah hugged the doll.

"Hurry up and get dressed. You'll be late if we don't go soon. I'll drive."

Before the girl could thank her brother he had already left the room. She hugged the Angel again, "We'll battle really hard Sakura! Now that were a team again!"

Hannah rushed over to her drawer and pulled out a red sleeveless shirt and some white colored, baggy pants and dressed herself quickly. She picked up her angel card, Sakura, and a twenty-dollar bill putting it all in a small red backpack. The girl brushed her teeth, hair and washed her face before running out to her brother's truck. The two zoomed away, Hannah couldn't stop smiling, Lance would have smiled but he didn't want Hannah to get all mushy.

"Ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the Finals!" the announcer welcome the huge audience who roared. "Are you ready to fight!" this was a rhetorical question but the crowd answered 'yes' anyway. "Alright then! You've seen these ladies battle to the very last hit point. Now we'll see who rises to the top! Our finalists are: Kira Robins! Allie Sullivan! Nina Parker! And Hannah Leonhart!"

As the announcer called her name an individual light fell over each girl. "First up, Nina Parker versus Hannah Leonhart!"

Hannah and Nina stepped forward to the layer, but it was completely dark. It was impossible to see the layer. "These young ladies will also have the honor to be the first American girls to use… THE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LAYERS!" the light over the layer finally turned on. "The environmental layers bring new challenges. Some play towards your strengths and some work against you. Angels! It's time to show your worth in the face of an uncertain layer! The layer for this math will be… Fog Hill!"

The layer was very misty like he said, it was hard to see. The layer was also uphill, like the announcer had said also. The field was grassy and looked wet, Hannah wasn't sure if this would play towards Sakura's strengths.

Nina was tall, probably a sophomore in high school. She was a Latin America looking girl too. Very pretty with long super curly dark hair and bright brown eyes. "Angels to the Layer!"

Hannah turned on her headset and let Sakura fall in, "May whatever it is that guides us guide you now Sakura." Hannah mumbled. Sakura landed softly on the grass, looking at it strangely. Hannah squinted to try and see Nina's angel but the layer was too large and too foggy.

"Angel Riku! Angel Sakura!" the announcer was able to see both Angels from his seat, "Angelic Fight!"

There was an eerie silence. Like a wind howling in the background. The fog seemed to become even thicker as the moments passed. The Deus tensed, if she couldn't see Nina's Angel how was she supposed to attack?

Sakura looked from left to right, she glanced up and down. But there was nothing she could see. There was a rustling sound nearby; she took her normal battle position, which was crouching low to the ground. Ready to spring and twirl away at a moment's notice. The pink-haired Angel seemed ready, but a blow that struck her right under her jaw proved Sakura wrong.

She barreled backwards landing near the edge. How? Who? Could Nina see through this fog? And so silently? Sakura opened her eyes, there stood an Angel that stood so much taller than she was it was like comparing a gnome to Shaq. Of course that was kind of exaggerated.

Angel Riku had long silver hair tied in a braid that dangled down to her waist. She had piercing blue eyes and wore a silver dress. Silver, metallic boots were laced up to her mid thigh and almost met the end of her short dress. She wore gloves like Sakura except they were more ornate and decorating with sea foam colored ribbons. The sharp heels on her boots added only more to her height.

The balance Angel had this look of terror, but under her circumstances it was hard not to be. Nina said something across the layer that Hannah managed to make out, "I thought you would put up more of a fight than this." Riku grabbed Sakura's wrist and dangled her in the air, dangerously close to the edge of the layer. Nina was clever; Riku was holding Sakura in such a way that if she moved it was bye-bye Saku.

Sakura squinted her eyes, looking like she was waiting for the end. Instead the silver angel threw Sakura over her shoulder effortlessly. The balance Angel landed on her side. A little more than one fourth of her hit points were deducted.

_Okay Hannah, think. Why are a lot of her points being deducted when Riku doesn't even seem to be trying?_ She stared at the enemy Angel, studying her height, body type, etcetera. _Wait! Riku has an emphasis on Power! So Sakura could be knocked out of the layer easily. And her hits must cause lots of damage. But if Riku has a maximum emphasis on power…_ She grinned, _then her defense was lowered dramatically!_

Sakura stood up, taking steps back as Riku stepped forward. "What's this? Is Sakura running away from Riku!" the announcer watched the battle. Hannah was ready to carry out her plan, but the fog became a lot thicker. Sakura and Riku disappeared in the fog. Both Deuses leaned forward, trying to see through the fog.

_How did Nina do it before? She could see through the fog._ Hannah looked around hoping for an answer. The crowd roared, but they weren't watching the layer. They were watching a special screen set up for the audience. It was in something like night vision. Hannah looked at this screen and they could see Riku and Sakura! There were two screens, one on each side of Nina and Hannah so the audience could watch. _Nina is watching the screen so she can see Sakura! We'll just have to se this to our advantage._

Hannah watched the screen, Riku was moving slowly through the layer towards Sakura. She was about a foot away and closing. _Just a little closer…_she thought. Riku was now in Sakura's kicking range. The pink haired Angel swung her leg up and landed a blow on Riku with all her power. The silver angel recoiled backwards dropping onto one knee. A little less than half her hit points were deducted. Nina looked horrified, Hannah looked excited, and Sakura just took her battle position.

The Deus and Angel didn't give Nina and Riku any time to think. Sakura jumped forward, spun and landed struck another blow this time from above. Riku barely managed to scrape by with only about two hit points left. She fell on her back and didn't move for a while. "Oh no! Riku suffers death from above by Angel Sakura! Is this the knockdown?"

Indeed it was. She was able to move her hand slightly, but otherwise Riku was unable to move. Nina held her hand above her head; this was the American symbol for forfeiting a fight in Angelic Layer. The crowd gasped, "Nina Parker and Angel Riku have forfeit! But Riku is unable to stand anyway. Victory once again goes to Hannah Leonhart and Angel Sakura!"

The hill and fog disappeared. In time for everyone to see Sakura jump off the layer into Hannah's hands, "Thank you for holding in there Sakura."

Nina, who looked mortified, took Riku out of the layer, "You tried…" she whispered. The other Deus and Angel ran over.

"I'm so sorry Nina. Is Riku okay?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah." Nina nodded, "Riku had a maximum emphasis on power, so her defense was greatly lowered. That's why whenever you hit her she lost a lot of points. It was a great match." The girl held out a hand that Hannah gladly shook.

The crowd applauded both girls. "What a match! Next up is Allie Sullivan versus Kira Robins!" the announcer called, Kira and Allie appeared. Allie tried to look happy by smiling but you could tell she was miserable. Her usually bright brown eyes were dull, and her peachy skin was dull. Her hair had grown a little and went past her shoulders, but it was messy and didn't have its usual sheen.

"Angels to the Layer!" the crowd exploded again with more excitement than ever. While the two Deus were getting set up the announcer started talking away. "Allie Sullivan also known as the "Princess of Power" also taught Hannah Leonhart how to operate Angel Sakura. Lulu and Allie have lost only one battle ever and are feared by Deuses across the nation.

Kira "No Fear" Robins has an incredible record too. She and her Angel Kiba have a perfect record, she's already brown the Point Bank! Her nickname "No Fear" is an understatement. Kira Robins seemingly fears no opponent and keeps her cool throughout the entire match!"

Angel Kiba and Angel Lulu were placed on the layer. Kiba was taller than Lulu, built heavyweight also. She had long navy blue hair, with cold eyes to match. She wore a long dark blue, silky robe with a wolf design on the back. Her cord was a long navy blue cord attach to a hair ribbon. Want to give a wild guess at what color that was too? Her shoes were a lot like long sock that reached up to mid thigh. Everything else was impossible to see from under the robe. Kiba stepped under the light and her robe started sparkling like stars in the dead of night.

Kiba was more amazing than Lulu. "Angel Kiba, Angel Lulu. Angelic Fight!" the crowd became quiet, watching the battle closely. Both Angels took a running start, both had amazing skills, both were strong. This one hit would decide the winner.

Allie coughed, Hannah could hear. Lulu slowed down as Allie coughed, her Deus was losing her focus now but was hanging in there. Both Angel's pulled their arms back and both punched the other right in the chest. Allie coughed again, she opened one eye to watch. The Angel's fell forward landing on their stomach's.

The computers started calculating the damage. There was a beeping noise. The computers were done. Kiba: 1 hit point left, Lulu: 0 points.

"Victory Kiba!" cried the announcer as Kiba slowly stood up, which came as a shock to Hannah. _How can she stand after that! Her Deus must be strong. _Hannah came back to Earth as she looked over at Allie. Her friend had gotten her Angel, but was now on the floor herself. She was on her knees, looking more miserable than ever.

The audience noticed too and gasped, "ALLIE!"

* * *

**Angelic Layer Pay-Per-View**

**Sakura vs. Kiba**

**Speed/Balance vs. Power/Defense**

**Comeplete opposites is one word for Sakura and Kiba. But can this be to each of their advantages? Order now to see the battle that everyone is going to be talking about!**


	10. Battle 10: Power of the Stars

**Author's Note: Sorry I forgot about how Lance got Sakura back. He got a call from Piffle Princess and they said Hannah's wasn't cheating and they could come pick up Sakura. **

**People are wondering how I come up with all these names for characters. I don't actually most of their names and ideas come from MY original characters or inspired by other things**

_Hannah Leonhart- Hannah was originally a character I use for Family rps. I tweaked her a little and slapped on the last name 'Leonahrt' which came from Squall Leonhart (KH)_

_Allie Sullivan- I came up with Allie just cause I was thinking about Monsters Inc. and thought about Mike Sullivan, the little green dude. Heheh…_

_Kira Robins- Kira is one of my characters I use in KH rps. Her last name is from a friend of mine who moved away recently_

_Kiba- Naruto was in the brain at the time. And I was thinking about Wolf's Rain_

_Rose- I wanted a chapter called Battle of the Flowers, or Flower Power. D'oh!_

_Riku- Inspired by Riku from KH even though I don't really like Riku of Kingdom Hearts_

_Nina Parker- I have heard the name Nina Parker somewhere. Just can't remember. Inspired by my Spanish teacher._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer, Naruto, or Final Fantasy 10**

* * *

It was about half an hour later that everyone was finally ready to fight. Hannah's heart was heavy; she didn't feel much like battling right now. Kira didn't seem interested in fighting at the moment either. Though they had no choice in the matter really.

Even the announcer's mood suddenly seemed to go sour. He wasn't as enthusiastic now that Allie was taken off to the hospital again. "Alright ladies and gentleman! It is now down to the final two Deus! Hannah and Angel Sakura in the west corner. Kira Robins and Angel Kiba! Angels to the Layer!"

The layer they battled on was like the old west I guess. It was flat too so it probably wouldn't hurt Sakura.

Sakura twirled off Hannah's hand onto the layer. Kiba just seemed to float off Kira's hand. The Wolf-Angel landed near the center, shooting the enemy Angel a glare. "Let the power of the wolf rip that cherry-blossom to shreds." Kira didn't seem to care that Hannah started glaring after her comment, "If you didn't want to get comments like that you should have chosen a stronger name." She shrugged.

Hannah wasn't sure where this came from but suddenly words jus poured from her mouth, "Sakura is not weak! She can overcome anything!" her head suddenly snapped down towards her Angel, taking her gaze off Kira. "Sakura! Let the power of your own star guide you to victory!" She was surprised at herself. _Did I really mean to say that?_ _Oops. _

The now Star-Angel turned quickly and gave Hannah a thumbs up, she mouthed the words 'You got it chief' since she couldn't talk. _Uhh… Sakura? Wait I didn't command her to do that! Did I?_

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the announcer called 'Angelic Fight'. Sakura spun around to face Kiba. Instead of her usual run and attack instantly Sakura was up to her old tricks. She twirled and made dance-like movements. Hannah's couldn't remember which Angel she had used this on but it seemed to be working. Kiba remained still and watched Sakura closely.

The Star-Angel was coming in close to Kiba now. _Attack now Sakura. _She commanded. The dance stopped and Sakura's fist slammed into Kiba. No, she had attack Kiba's arm. The wolf Angel saw right through her attack! And blocked it! "No way! That should have worked!" Hannah said to herself. Kiba brought her other arm down and thrust it up, knocking Sakura in the chin.

You could hear the tinkling of Sakura's Angel cord as she hit the ground a few inches away. The Angel stood up again to face Kiba. "Back for more? You should just let it end." Kira said sending Kiba towards the smaller Angel.

Sakura leapt out of harm's way and turned towards Kiba who was just now stopping. "Showing you back so many times in battle is a bad idea." Hannah said, she sent Sakura now towards Kiba at full speed. She jumped and landed a blow of Kiba's back. Kira glared, Kiba took an impressive amount of damage, but Sakura also had taken some damage from Kiba's punch. This would be a neck and neck run for the win through the whole battle.

The power Angel managed to stay on her feet after her enemy's attack. She looked angry. Incredibly angry. The best word to describe it was that she was blinded by rage. "We will not lose!" One arm swung around knocking Sakra down, but caused little damage. She put her hands together and tried to elbow Sakura right in the neck, which would have been the final blow. The balance Angel rolled over to dodge and usedher leg to kick Kiba in the chest.

"What's this? Kira Robins seems to be losing it! The once poised Kiba is now blinded by fury!" what he said was true.

Kiba started standing up; looking even more infuriated that before. Sakura started back up towards the edge of the layer as Kiba started walking forward. She charged at the Star Angel reached out an arm to knock Sakura out of the layer. But her attack failed. Sakura ducked, the Wolf-Angel lost her balance and fell off the layer. She spun around and held onto the layer with one hand.

"L-Layer out? Kiba Layers out! Sakura is the winner!" the crowd roared and confetti started falling on Hannah.

Sakura walked to Kiba. Grabbed her hand and pulled her back onto the layer. Hannah then shut down Sakura and picked up both Angels. Kira started walking away, even without Kiba. "Kira wait!"

The Deus ran towards the other girl, "You forgot Kiba."

"That Angel can't win anyway. She's worthless if she can't win a match against a weak cherry-blossom." Kira growled then darted down the hallway and out into the parking lot.

She glanced at both Angels in her hands, was it just Hannah or did Kiba look like she was frowning? Over the intercom a voice blared from the speakers. "Hannah Leonhart please report to the Winner's circle."

Sakura got a small crown that was placed crookedly on her head. Hannah too. They were both plastic and just painted but it was still cool. They didn't receive the whole robe thing like the National Champion's did but the crown was enough. "Hannah Leonhart, Sakura you are the B-block champions! You now qualify for the Nationals!"

The crowd roared. A few friends from school who were watching the match at home cheered. Lance clapped along with his parents as they watched their daughter stand in the spotlight with Sakura and Kiba.

"Kiba we'll have to find you a new home. And Sakura. We're going to the Nationals next!"


	11. Hannah's Diary: Broken Promises

**Hannah's Diary June 5, 2005**

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I was so happy after Sakura and I won the Regional tournament. But right after that I went straight to the hospital to check on Allie. Allie was hooked up to lots of machines and stuff. They gave me about an hour alone to talk with her. She said she had watched the whole battle on the little TV in her room. She said she was so proud to be my friend. I showed Allie Kiba and asked if any of her friends might be interested. Allie told me that I should alter Kiba a little, like trim her hair and change her outfit. Then tell Piffle Princess that Kia had abandoned her Angel and she was going to give Kiba to someone else.

We talked for a while, about forty-five minutes about Angelic Layer and how Allie wished she would have gone onto the Nationals. I told her she should go out for the B-Block again next year. But then she said something that broke my heart.

"Hannah. For me there is no next year." She smiled sadly. "I was just glad that I was able to teach you and Sakura about Angelic Layer. Now you can become the next Princess of Power." I started crying a little while she kept talking, "Let the power of your own star guide you." In between words she was coughing. "Hannah."

"Y-Y-Yes?" It was hard to talk while crying.

"Reach into my bag, and take Lulu. Please, just don't let anyone else operate her. We were a team and I would want her to be a solider under my command than be a solider under someone else's." I held Lulu with a shaky hand and promised that she would be Allie's only Angel. Allie smiled at me, she weakly grabbed my free hand, "Will you stay with me? I have to go to sleep now. But when I wake up I want you and Lulu to be the first people I see."

"You promise that you'll wake up?" I asked, smiling sadly at her.

Allie nodded, she closed her eyes and started falling asleep.

But she broke her promise.

I cried really hard. Her parents rushed in along with some nurses and doctors. They pulled me away from Allie and put me in a room by myself. My parents and lance were there in about ten minutes. I cried and wouldn't stop. I clutched Lulu in my hand, tears falling on her head and cheeks. It looked like she was crying too by the way my own tears fell down her cheeks.

I thought I would drown in my own tears. Maybe drown the whole world.

It was all over the Angelic Layer channel when I got home. "Deus Allison Sullivan dead!" "Angel Lulu, gone missing!" "Princess of Power has passed."

Lulu now sits next to my bed, along with Sakura. They say the more the merrier. But in this case Lulu's presence didn't help. This pain was too real. Too great. And what were the odds that Allie was supposed to die? It was against the odds.


	12. Battle 12: Speed Demon!

**Author's Note: Yeah. I know the last chapter was sad and poorly written. But I wanted it to really sound like a thirteen year-old girl had written it when she was depressed. Anyway, we're gearing up for the Nationals. I'm excited about introducing Zack's Angel.**

**One more thing before you go, I drew a profile and just a picture of Sakura. Check my profile and scroll down, there should be two links to each picture if you just want to get a better idea of what Sakura looks like. I skipped a few details though. Meh bad.

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**

Apparently Zack had known Allie too. He was there for the funeral. Instead of the usual black everyone was dressed in white. White was the color of morning in some cultures. Her parents thought Allie would want a more, for lack of a better word 'cheerful' funeral. Black was too depressing.

I am truly sorry Allie if I disrespected you when I used the word 'cheerful'. I'll try harder to make better choices with my words next time.

"White is the color of snow. Snow comes during the winter when the plants die so it's usually the color of mourning. At least in I think Chinese culture describes it that way." Zack tried to cheer Hannah up.

The Deus had brought Lulu and Sakura to the funeral. She made special white kimonos just for the occasion. But the Angel cords made noise and didn't match so she had left them at home. Sakura's hair was now messy and fell in her face without the pair of goggles to hold her pink hair back. Lulu's hair was long now and draped over Hannah's hand.

She nodded weakly; Hannah hadn't taken this too well. Not to mention Lance was now off preparing for college. He went early so he could explore the town and make friends. There were so many emotional obstacles she had to go over. It was far too difficult being a Deus than she had expected.

The funeral proceeded, it was all very gloomy. But somehow Hannah felt better after the ceremony. She finally knew that Allie was at rest. Zack walked Hannah to her car afterwards. Right before she left her said, "See you at the Nationals." And then her parents drove off.

_Did Zack make it to the Nationals too?_ She thought staring out her window in deep thought.

June 11, Day of the Nationals

"Ladies and gentleman welcome to the Nationals!" the announcer said pointing at the banner that hung above his head. The banner read, "Angelic Layer America, Nationals." The crowd roared with excitement. "Are you ready to rock!"

There was a loud "Yes" from the audience.

"Alrighty then! We have four Deus hear with some amazing talent! From Block A- Linda Weiss. B Block- Hannah Leonhart. C Block- Pam Crandle. And D Block- Zack Tomo!" A light fell over each Deus's chair as their names were called. Hannah was too far away from Zack to see him.

"First up we have Hannah Leonhart. A girl who was trained by the Allie Sullivan, to be a Deus. She and her Angel, Sakura, were considered long shots for the longest time. But after the defeat of Angel Kiba they are no longer underestimated! Give it up for Hannah and Sakura!" the crowd started chanting "Go Hannah Go!" at least her fans did.

There were a few people in the front row holding signs that said, "We love Sakura." Hannah turned red as she headed towards the layer. She pulled out Sakura from her backpack; this made the crowd go wild again.

"Hannah's opponent will be…" the announcer opened an envelope with a name inside, "Zack Tomo!" the crowd roared again even louder than they did for Hannah. "Zack has been playing Angelic Layer for about two weeks now. He and his Angel have just crushed everyone he comes against. Feared by Deuses and loved by fans Zack Tomo and Angel Sasuke are a favorite to win!"

"ANGEL SASUKE!" Hannah gasped, no one was able to hear her over the roar of the crowd. Indeed the other Angel was based off Uchiha Sasuke, and it was a _male _Angel. Hannah had never seen a boy Angel before. So it was kind of a nice surprise. But had he made that Angel sort of as a joke to go along with Sakura? Her head began to hurt now.

"Angels to the Layer!" the announcer called.

"Let the power of the stars be with you now and forever Sakura. Fall in, Sakura!"

"Sasuke, let the power of the moon guide you to victory. Sasuke, fall in!"

Sakura curled and spun in the air landing on one knee. She turned around and this time gave a thumbs up and mouthed, "We can win chief." This was starting to be a bad habit for Hannah. Sasuke just dropped in landing on both legs.

Sasuke was slightly taller than Sakura, built for speed more than likely, male Angels usually larger than female Angels so he wasn't super tiny. Her had spiky, jet-black hair and coal colored eyes to match. His battle costume was somewhat like Sakura's. Black and white with one other color, which in his case was red. He had a black T-shirt from what it looked like with bandages wrapped around his elbows down to his fingers. Black shorts which went a little lower than his knee with bandages wrapped from his knee down to a pair of black zori which were like the ones in the books. The red coloring that I had mention earlier was on Sasuke's back. A red circle that looked sort of metallic was placed on the very center of her T-shirt.

The costume seemed sort of like Sakura's but not a whole lot. Zack was so going to get chewed out by Hannah after the battle.

The layer they were battling on was a field. It was really grassy. The tall grass went up to Sakura's knees just about. In some areas the grass was shorter.

"Angel Sasuke. Angel Sakura. Angelic Fight!"

Sakura got in her battle position, but something was wrong. Sasuke wasn't there anymore. He disappeared! "Behind you Sakura." Zack said to Hannah.

The pink-haired was ready to spin around but it was too late. Sasuke was so fast! He was already landed a hit five second into the match. Sakura landed with a small amount of hit points deducted. She started getting up, about halfway to her feet when another blow was struck. This one hit her shoulder.

A gasp came from the crowd as the Angel landed near the edge of the layer. Zack grinned, as did Sasuke. "I was hoping you would put up more of a fight than this Sakura."

Sasuke walked over and grabbed Sakura by her arm, and stood her up. Hannah was sort of shocked; did Zack just want to Sasuke to get hurt? Sakura swung her leg around expecting to hit the enemy Angel right in the chest. But there was no crunch, or any sound for that matter.

He dodged! How fast was he? So fast that Hannah couldn't see Sasuke!

Sakura looked left and right, behind, to her left, or right. So where-? Above… She looked up, and coming down from above the layer was Sasuke. He spun, landing another hit on her shoulder.

"Sakura!" Hannah cried as she watched her Angel get throw around like a rag doll.

"Ooooooo- That's gotta hurt! Sakura how will you win against this speed demon?"

* * *

**Angelic Layer Pay-per-View**

**Angel Sakura versus Angel Sasuke**

**Balance versus Speed**

**It's battle of the ninjas! But who will take home the gold? Angel Sasuke seems to have the advantage but what Sakura lacks in speed she makes up in surprises!**

**GO! FIGHT! WIN!**

**Order Now!**


	13. Battle 13: The Deadly Kiss!

**Author's Note: Hahaha. Sakura versus Sasuke. I'm gonna have lots of fun with these too. I'm so upset that we're coming to the end of ATO. This has been so much fun. Thanks a lot for the reviews, they always make my day and keep me in a relatively good mood (Ah'm a grumpy person). Well folks stay tuned as we see how Sakura-Chan will fare against Sasuke-kun. (Yes I am using my honorifics correctly)**

**-Ve1vet**

**Disclaimer: YES! I own Angelic Layer. Bah… I wish. So… NO I don't own Angelic Layer. And I don't own Naruto or any of Motokonobaka's characters

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**

A hush fell over the crowd as the pink-haired Angel flopped across the layer. The hits weren't hurting much but if it continued like this Sasuke would win. A small shadow fell over the Angel as Sasuke loomed over her.

_Just remain still Sakura. _Hannah thought, she was trying to form a plan. She waited just a few seconds, hoping Zack put his guard down. _Now Sakura._

The female Angel jumped ever so slightly, balanced herself on her hands and struck a blow on the unsuspecting Sasuke.

_Zack thought it was the knock down, so he didn't think Sakura could get back up. _Hannah glanced at Sakura's point gauge. She wasn't even past the 50 mark, _Maybe he's just new at this and didn't know she couldn't be knocked down so early._ Sasuke's points took a downward plunge; his points were now about the same as Sakura's.

The male Angel recovered quickly. "I think it's time to start getting serious. Right Sasuke." Sasuke charged back towards Sakura.

_Hey! I can see Sasuke now! _Hannah, now prepared put Sakura in a defensive position. Sasuke was mostly a black colored blur; since his points were drained he was slower now. But only by a little; but that's all Sakura needed.

He was in Sakura's range now. _Let's do this_. The pink-haired Angel leapt forward, stopping Sasuke's momentum. She grabbed his shoulders, balancing herself on top of him with her hands.

The crowd held their breath as Sakura curled her legs forward and launched Sasuke towards the end of the layer. Sasuke racked up damage points but didn't Layer Out. Hannah's eyes narrowed, _I was hoping he'd Layer out after that!_

"Sasuke managed to avoid a Layer out but he did get a lot of damage after that. Sakura has shown Sasuke she's a worthy opponent!" the crowd cheered, some Sasuke fans grumbled.

Sakura's grin faded, she looked dead serious now. The enemy Angel stood up, he also looked dead serious. After Hannah's last attack Zack couldn't risk Sasuke getting hurt again, so he remained still.

_We'll have to make a move._ She thought, but an idea came to her; _we've inflicted more damage, so even if time runs out we'll win. We're almost forcing Sasuke to move!_ The pink-haired Angel did not move, except form one hand that pointed up at the screen, which gave all the data from the battle.

Zack followed her hand, glancing hesitantly at the screen.

_Angel Sakura vs. Angel Sasuke_

_Time Remaining: 00:30_

Zack was now worried. Hannah had him trapped. It was now or never.

Sasuke started running, picking up speed as he ran after his target. Sakura charged at Sasuke also. This attack would decide the winner of the battle.

Both were in range of each other now. It seemed as if time suddenly slowed down, Sasuke swung his leg up slowly. Sakura grabbed his leg, leapt forward flipping Sasuke over. But she wasn't done, as time continued moving at a pace equivalent to that of a snail, the crowd watched as the balance Angel loomed over Sasuke, bringing one leg down on his back while he was still falling.

Time returned to normal and the crowd stood up and cheered. The few points Sasuke had left were now gone. Sakura backed off now, staring down at her fallen opponent.

"SAKURA WINS!" The speakers around the arena blared as the announcer roared excitedly. Hannah flinched, her shoulders bolted up to her ears and her back sunk lower into the egg-chair.

Zack picked up Sakura and Sasuke and walked over towards his friend. "That was a good fight." he held out a hand to Hannah, and gave her back Sakura.

"Y-Yeah!" she shook his hand, making the crowd explode once more, "Just one question though…"

"Shoot."

"Why did you base your Angel off Sasuke Uchiha? Like I based my Angel off Sakura Haruno?"

"They say the best flattery is through imitation, is it not?"

"Well I-" Zack had already started walking away with this silly grin on his face, "I'll be rooting for ya!" he said over his shoulder before disappearing in a crowd of news reporters.

Zack trotted up the stairs to the V.I.P. seats. He was allowed up there along with the Deuses from the Regional Tournament. It was a large room, with big comfortable looking chairs, a bird's eye view of the arena, and a few butlers. There was also a small practice layer in the very back for the intermission.

Several people were already up there including: Christina Tice and Angel Rose, Kira Robins, Nina Parker and Angel Riku, and last but not least Lina Paiya nd Kurokoneko. Zack was kind of surprised that Lina had come all the way from Hawaii to be here. But whatever.

The announcer said it was time for the intermission now, so immediately several jumped for the practice layer. But only Christina and Lina were successful in grabbing the headsets. Kurokoneko struck her cat pose while Rose danced gracefully.

Kira Robins had this look of sorrow mixed with anger as she watched the two Angels. Most likely she missed battling with Kiba.

Zack studied the room a little bit more, apparently there were some more people coming since a few more seats were reserved with names that were hard to pronounce. Almost on cue a group of people entered, chattering in Japanese. A tall man with a long white lab coat and glasses, a boy with black hair and wore a black uniform, and a young lady with bobbed brown hair with two long locks and blue eyes. On her shoulder sat a tiny Angel dressed in red and white.

The trio took a seat in the front, removing the little reserved signs. They noticed that every American Deus in the room stared at them. The young lady turned around first, being careful that her Angel did not fall. "Hello American Deus. We come from Japan. I am Misaki Suzuhara, this is Ohjiro Mihara and Icchan." She bowed. She spoke English surprisingly well. "My mother Shuuko Suzuhara will be here soon."

Everyone nodded, rather silent since this was an awkward situation. Zack was the first to speak, "Hello Suzuhara-san, I am Zack Tomo." Zack pointed at each other girl and said their name, then he introduced the Angels, "Angel Rose, Angel Kurkoneko, Angel Riku and Angel Sasuke."

Misaki nodded and took her seat again and began chatting with Ohjiro. Shuuko darted in, not noticing the Americans. "Omoni!" (Omoni is a word for mother) Misaki said happily as Shuuko sat down but didn't reply, though she did start turning red. Zack turned back to the American Deuses in the room and shrugged.

"Maybe they're representing Angelic Layer Japan?" He whispered, the girls looked to each other and nodded.

Kira studied the group more closely, "That Angel looks familiar."

"Hey! Isn't that Angel Hikaru? I thought she retired." Christina announced to the others.

"Your right!" the other four said in unison.

"Why would an Angel retire?" Zack asked with a confused look.

"Angels are only supposed to last two and a half years at most. But Hikaru has been battling for about three and a half years now. She was the champion before Angelic Layer went International, so that was a long time ago. Hikaru only recently retired because her parts got rusty and old." Kira seemed to take pride in how much about Angelic Layer she knew. "This may be just a rumor but I heard her Deus came to American to replace all of her rusty parts so she could come out of retirement. That Angel sure doesn't look rusty or old so I think its true."

All eyes fell upon the Angel. If that rumor was true why would Misaki be here instead of on her way home?

The intermission ended and everyone returned to his or her seat. Hannah fidgeted nervously with her fingers. Linda Weiss, her opponent, seemed less nervous. Lina was tall, probably five foot ten with long blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore glasses with large, round, black frames so her bright eyes weren't so noticeable.

"Alright! Now to get on with the show! We have Hannah Leonhart, a newbie who has gone against the odds and has never lost. But that may change, see we have Kinda Weiss. Another newbie who has become an Angelic Layer legend! She hasn't lost a match either, but has taken down the best Angels in the game. Now… as we come down to the final battle we must ask; who has the strength to take home the title?"

In one section of the audience the crowd replied 'Linda!'

But the other section roared, 'Hannah!'

"Alright now lets get this show on the road. Angels to the Layer!"

Sakura leapt off Hannah's hand, curling herself into a ball and spun several times in the air before landing. Hannah grinned at Sakura; she never would have been able to do that only a month ago.

Her opponent spiraled down, hidden from view by lots of metallic pink and red cloth. The cloth settled on the ground to reveal a beautiful Angel. She was a little taller than Sakura, with long strawberry colored hair that dangled down by her feet. Her skin was pale, but it looked like it glowed, for lack of a better word. Her battle costume was very elaborate, all made of pink, red, and white. She wore a strapless leotard, with what looked like a kimono that fell off her shoulders and hung by her elbows. The sleeves were pulled back so not to interfere with her punches. The kimono was oversized and gathered on the floor; it was mostly cheery red with pink hearts and the cuffs on her sleeves were hot pink. The Leotard was hot pink with white hearts that has golden arrows.

The Angel opened her brilliant pink eyes; she smiled and blew a kiss in Sakura's direction, giving a small wink. Like Sakura's "You got it chief" thumbs up this must have been Linda's, Angel's pose. The pink and red Angel didn't wear any shoes; they looked more like long red and pink stockings.

The layer they were fighting on was the normal flat layer, most likely to keep from one Angel having a disadvantage.

"Angel Cupid. Angel Sakura." The announcer looked at each Angel, "Let the fight for the title begin. Angelic Fight!"

_Cupid? That name certainly fits her. I think she's a defense Angel. But I think she might be built lightweight sine she's not a whole lot taller than Sakura. _Hannah thought. Sakura brought both arms up to her chest, looking somewhat cute, then got into her defensive position.

Cupid looked like she was going to blow another kiss, but she slung her arm off to the side like she was throwing a kiss instead. There was a sound like scissors cutting a delicate fabric.

_What was that? _Hannah thought.

"WHOA! Instant haircut! What happened to Angel Sakura?" the announcer seemed to have noticed something.

_HUH? _Hannah noticed a small amount of pink hair gathered around Sakura's feet. It was barely noticeable but Sakura's hair was shorter.

"It's Cupid's special move. You won't lay a finger on her before she defeats you." Linda giggled, for someone who looked so innocent she had a very evil cackle. Cupid threw another kiss. This time Sakura staggered backwards holding her arm.

_WHAT? _Hannah leaned forward in her chair. Sakura got hurt! Cupid only blew a kiss and now some points were being deducted. _How?_

* * *

**Cupid vs. Sakura**

**Defense vs. Balance**

**It all comes down to this ladies and gentlemen! The Final Battle for the title "Champion of the Layer" will Cupid and her deadly kisses blow Sakura out of the tournament? But what's this? Sakura seems to have a few tricks up her sleeve. This will be the battle everyone will be talking about!**

**ORDER NOW!**


	14. Battle 14: Date with Destiny

**Vel's Note: NOOOO! I dun wanna let go of Sakura and Hannah! I'ma miss them! I have nothing else to say except that there will probably be only one or two chapters following this (cries). I have some more art of Sakura, and Sakura, Rinrei, and Kuro that I need to ink and upload. Keep checking my profile because I won't say here when I upload it.**

**Story so far: The Final battle between two tough cookies! Cupid, with her deadly kiss. How is she able to hit Sakura without even touching her? And Sakura, the little balance underdog. What Sakura lacks in strength she makes up in surprises! Who will win?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer or Naruto, just my characters.

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Another deadly kiss struck, this time unbalancing the balance angel! Sakura was knocked to the ground, losing a few points.

_I don't understand! How is Sakura getting hit? _Hannah leaned forward in her seat.

Sakura struggled to her feet, staring coldly with her bright emerald eyes at her foe. Cupid looked ready to let another deadly kiss strike. Sakura charged, as fast as she could, almost in range.

But she flew back, a few inches as another of Cupid's kisses hit. More points were subtracted, leaving her gauge a little above the fifty mark. She didn't give up though; slowly she got to her feet, knees shaking a little. _We must try again, please Sakura!_

The pink haired angel started to pick up speed again; _we'll try death from above._ Hannah thought, sending the command. Sakura leapt up high, her presence seemingly disappearing in the lights.

Cupid tried another kiss sending it upwards but nothing happened. She kept trying, forgetting to move when Sakura landed a blow on the red Angel. Hannah didn't give Linda time to think though; she kept attacking with as much force as Sakura could muster. Landing a few punches kicks and flips, Cupid's points took a dramatic drop.

"Time to get serious Cupid!" Linda called, gritted her teeth right after.

Cupid's eyes seemed to glow red, her arms shot up and successfully blocked a kick from Sakura. The balance Angel kept trying to kick and punch but every time she was blocked by Cupid.

"Oh no! And things looked like they were going well for Sakura! With only a minute and forty five seconds on the clock can she turn this battle around?" the announcer said into his microphone.

"Weiss-san reminds me of Ringo-san." Misaki said to Icchan, smiling.

"How so?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Misaki's smile grew wider; "Cupid uses the same attacks as Lanka's Dance of Death. I hope Leonhart-chan can figure it out though. Otherwise this battle seems out of her reach."

Sakura backed off, leaping towards the other side of the layer. She was just in time to watch Cupid send another kiss in her direction.

_Here it comes! _Hannah commanded Sakura to put her guard up.

Something curious happened. Actually, nothing happened. Except a gentle wind blew Sakura's pink hair. _Wha-? _Hannah observed, and then a science lesson came back to her. _It's something like air pressure! Cupid's attacks are air! She forces a strong wind in my direction and it hurts Sakura! But since were so far away the wind has died down!_

A small smirk appeared on Hannah's face. This did not go unnoticed by Linda, "Miss Hannah. Why are you smirking?"

"I know your secret." Hannah watched as a look of horror went across her opponent's face. Then Linda's expression turned into one of doubt, "I'm not bluffing either." Hannah added. It went back to a horrified look. "Go Sakura!"

The balance Angel charged, easily avoiding Cupid's kisses by jumping up high.

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd; they all screamed "Go Sakura Go! Go Sakura Go!" it kept getting louder, and louder, and louder till it was almost unbearable.

Sakura kept getting faster, continuing to push herself to her limits as the cheers continued. She was now in range of Cupid, landing a hard blow to the other Angel's stomach. Cupid fell backwards, taken by surprise. Once again Hannah didn't give Linda time to think.

The balance Angel jumped high, folding one leg, and coming down with her knee to land a deadly blow on Cupid. Linda screamed but her voice was lost in the noise that erupted from the crowd. Hannah was almost positive that for a split second she saw a tall black Angel that looked like Lulu next to Sakura. Only for a second though, msut have been her imagination. It was Hannah's lucky day because the clock ran out about a second after Sakura landed her blow.

The computer calculated the damage each Angel had delivered. Both Deus waited, mentally crossing their fingers. A beeping noise came from the screen as it finished.

Winner: Sakura

A roar arose from the crowd, from everybody. The announcer flapped his arms and screamed into the microphone; but his words were lost among the voices of the crowd. The V.I.P. seats erupted in noise too, even from Kira. Misaki and her group was calmer, they stood up and clapped. Misaki immediately left the room along with Icchan.

Sakura ran off the layer jumping high before becoming lifeless and landing in Hannah's hands. Just in time for pink confetti to cover her and her Deus. There was a standing ovation that threatened to burst your eardrums. Then over the loudspeaker the announcer came on again.

"Congratulations Hannah and Sakura, the new champions! But before you all go, and before we crown the winners we have a bit of a surprise!" he grinned as the audience sat back down quietly. "Back to the Layer champion! One more battle! With the Queen of Angelic Layer! MMMMIIISSSSAAAKKII SSUUUZUUUHAARRAA!" there was a moment of silence before the crowd erupted again.

Misaki entered the arena with Hikaru on her shoulder. Misaki was tall now, around sixteen and her hair was a little longer now. Hannah noted she looked a little like Misaki, since they both had light brown hair, even if Hannah had one gray eye she still had a blue eye that was the same color as Misaki's blue eyes.

Hikaru had changed a little from her older design. Her hair and eyes and size were still the same, it was just her costume that was different. It was still a tight-fitting lightweight armor, but now white sleeves came out from under her shoulder armor and some black fabric was added the make her gloves almost reach her sleeves. On the neck of her costume a small gold crown design was sewn in, marking her a champion. Otherwise she was still the same.

Instead of the usual 'Angels to the Layer' the announcer said "Champions to the Layer!"

Misaki mumbled something to Hikaru before letting her fall in. "Power of the Stars be with us now!" Hannah mumbled, "Angel, Fall in!" silently she added, "Good luck."

Both Angels landed on one knee and stood up to face each other. Sakura was a little taller than Hikaru, probably meaning Hikaru had an emphasis on speed.

"ANGELIC FIGHT!" the announcer yelled louder than ever into the microphone. They had returned to the flat layer for this battle.

Misaki obviously didn't underestimate Sakura at all; she attacked with all her might. Hannah just knew she did. The speed Angel ran at amazing speed towards the balance Angel. She leapt up coming in with a flying kick. Sakura dropped to her hands and cart wheeled away.

She was taken by surprise though when Hikaru easily stopped and attacked her from behind. Sakura was launched to the other side of the layer, but landed on her feet at she spun in the air. _What a fabulous Angel. And she's taking me seriously, I couldn't dream of a more fun fight! _Hannah smiled, commanding Sakura back out into the battle.

Death from Above usually worked, so Hannah gave that a shot. Her Angel disappeared in the lights, landing hard on the ground. She hadn't fallen but Hikaru had disappeared too. _She's above Sakura! Look out! _Hannah commanded, _Misaki is using my attacks too, she has good eyes._

Indeed Hikaru was hidden in the lights, this time she was taken by surprise. Sakura balanced on her hands, purposely in Hikaru's way. When the speed Angel came down of the kill she spun, sending a ton of kicks at Hikaru and stopped her momentum.

The audience roared again for Hannah. Misaki smiled before saying, "I have not underestimated your skills Leonhart-san. You are a worthy opponent. But I'm afraid Hikaru and I have a reputation of defeating every Angel since Suzuka beat us. And we must keep a promise that we will never lose again."

A hush fell over the crowd as two white wings sprung from Hikaru's back, that was a new feature. She hovered high above the layer, with a massive amount of power gathering between her hands. Hannah watched in horror as the Layer exploded with light.

Sakura, Hikaru, and the whole Layer disappeared in the smoke left behind. Slowly it became visible again, first Hikaru still floating over the layer, the layer, and then the little figure lying lifelessly. Sakura's arms were crossed over her chest as if she had tried to protect herself at the last moment.

"HIKARU WINS!" the announcer cried, "But Sakura gave Misaki a run for her money in the end!" the crowd roared.

Hannah couldn't help but let a small tear roll down her cheek, one of joy, not sorrow. Sakura had given it her all and she did not lose to just any one. The Deus quickly wiped the tear away and went to pick up her Angel. For the first time she had lost, the first time Sakura had become lifeless with leaping or being taken off the layer. It did hurt, but they were still the champions.

"Thanks. For helping me to my dreams of being a champion." Hannah hugged her Angel. Her special moment was interrupted, as Misaki placed a heavy crown on her head. She also placed a crown on Sakura's head, being careful of her goggles.

A small microphone had been attached to her shirt, "Ladies and gentlemen. This is Hannah Leonhart and Sakura, your new champions!"


	15. Hannah's Diary: Against the Odds

**June 4, My room**

It's been roughly a year since the Finals! And exactly one year since Allie died… I went and visited her today. I make sure her grave is well kept, with plenty of pretty flowers. A cherry blossom tree has been planted near her grave; I think maybe her parents put it there.

I don't want to be all depressed! Anyway! All this great stuff has happened since Sakura and I won the Nationals! Angelic Layer actually has voices for Angels now! Though its only available for those who made it to the Nationals, and you have to command your Angel to say stuff. It's a lot of fun, because I can role-play with Zack using Sakura. It's lots of fun, and we train too instead of goofing off the whole time.

Sakura and I are unstoppable! I'm serious! We haven't lost any official battles yet! Note the 'official' there; Zack and Sasuke beat me once. (But that's cause I let him!)

Umm… last week Zack became my boyfriend. It's kind of embarrassing. So I think technically that makes Sakura and Sasuke boyfriend and girlfriend too. THAT'S SO CUTE! Isn't it? I think it is.

Misaki and I are really good friends now, but she had to go back to Tokyo. We're pen pals now, she has really good handwriting. Misaki writes and tells me she can't wait till Hikaru and Sakura get to battle again. I told her that would be fun. She also said that right after the American Nationals got translated and put on the air in Japan that a ton of Naruto based Angels popped up. Most of them named Sakura and Sasuke.

She also tells me I have a fan club, she's president. I love Misaki, she's so nice.

Oh yeah! Right after we won the Nationals a movie producer hired me because he thought I was cute. So I played a small role in a movie that's coming out in July! There were so many lines to learn, it was so hard! Luckily though they had a portable layer there for me and some of the other actors to use during scenes. So I got lots of practice and made new friends.

The only bad thing though I still had to go to school! I had a personal tutor so after we were all tired out from filming I had to go to school in my trailer. My own trailer was cool too, I brought my own personal Layer for when the set closed and I couldn't use the big one.

I think that was the strangest thing that happened after the Nationals. I can tell you that I was really popular when I got back to my real school. Though they didn't know about the movie then. With the money I earned I put up a small iron fence around our house to keep the press out. Most people want to see Sakura, though I'm afraid she'll be taken away from me again. And I certainly DO NOT want THAT to happen again.

I found a home for Kiba, after I altered her appearance. I gave her to a little girl that said she loved Sakura. I saw her at a public tournament once when I was doing errands; she and Kiba make a good team.

Whew! I'm really tired from writing. And I have to go meet Zack for some more role-playing. Hehe! From now on and forever, I'll always love playing Angelic Layer with Sakura. Over and Out! **–Hannah

* * *

**

**.Against the Odds.**


	16. Alternate Ending: Diamond Raindrops

**F**riends, something she really didn't have. The pionk haired girl stared idly off into the distance. Sure, there was Hannah, but that's because she was like a mother to her, since she had no parents. And Allie died a long time ago, she was one of her best friends too.

Currently the girl sat out in the rain in the open and grassy field. She didn't seem to mind the fact that her umbrella had flown away in the wind and that she was getting wet. Her back and the bottom of her black jeans were starting to get wet, her chest was hunched over her knees so her torso was dry. The long pinkish hair shined in the rain, and the light brown of her goggles turned dark from getting wet.

People might call it stupid to sit in the rain, for what, thirty minutes now? But, Sakura, found it peaceful, even if she risked catching a cold. The wind picked up slightly and she shuddered, her red jacket wasn't keeping her warm anymore. Sakura considered standing up and going home, but she was frozen to the bone and stiff from sitting for so long.

She hunched forward even more and sobbed slightly into her knees. Everything bad happened to her. Why? It couldn't be karma; she was an all around good spirited, happy, kind person. So why all these horrible trials? Why the pain? Why the suffering? Why anything?

"Maybe if I sit here long enough I'll just be washed away… with the rain…"

"Aww… don't say that!" another voice came from above. She jerked her head up and stared into the piercing green eyes of Kurokoneko. Sakura also noticed that she was protected from the rain by the green umbrella Kuro-chan was holding. "We'd miss you too much!" she giggled holding out a hand to help her up. The girl was completely dry, her usual green kimono style t-shirt, and jeans with her hair in the usual pigtails.

"Kuro-chan…" she breathed, about to ask how long she had been standing there when another voice interrupted.

"Hey little miss darkness, you're going to catch a cold out here." The raven haired teen smirked at her, he wasn't holding an umbrella but did wear a long black rain coat.

"Sasuke-kun! You're here too…" Sakura was once again interrupted.

"He's right Sakura, it isn't wise to stay out here…" the tall black haired woman said in her usual calm voice. Her bright red eyes fixed upon Sakura.

"Lulu-san!"

"Not just Lulu!" a cheery voice piped up. From behind Lulu came silver haired Riku and tall Rose. Riku spoke again, "You've got a lot of friends Sakura-chan!"

"You guys…" her eyes watered a little, she felt so guilty. She really did have lots of friends…

Kurokoneko held out a hand to help her up, "C'mon Sakura! You're soaked to the bone! Let's go home!"

Her vision blurred with tears and she started to get up, but stopped. Suddenly, as if on cue, the clouds parted revealing the bluest sky imaginable and a large, vivid, rainbow. Everyone turned to stare as large, shimmering, raindrops like diamonds fell to earth; illuminated by the shine of the bright sun.

"It seems as if this rainbow is a sign…" Kurokoneko turned back around, "…things are only going to get better from here, can't you see?"

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG_

Hannah sat up with a start, heart pounding as she breathed and looked at her battered alarm clock. "It was… just a dream?" she looked up as if to make sure there was no rainbow in her room. Sadly there was only the white ceiling.

The auburn haired girl looked to Sakura on her nightstand, looking rather peaceful. She grinned, "Things really are looking up for us, right Sakura-chan?"

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**I don't' want to stop updating, whaa, little Hannah is sooo kawaii! So here's just a little alternate ending. I was inspired by the FMA theme song: Ready, Steady, Go! I was thinking about what could have going through Ed's head and got an idea. So Sakura here plays the part of Ed sitting in the field in the rain and Kurokoneko as Winry who shows up; thent he sky opens up and there a big rainbow and sky and stuff. So yeah….**

**Anyways that's to all my supporters, Daydreamer, Sugar, Motoko. And thanks Motoko for the award hehehe! Anywas, Sora over and out!**


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